1. Field of the Invention
The herein disclosed invention relates to devices for maintaining an animal's ears away from its mouth and food while it is eating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many devices have been designed to protect the head and ears of animals, including man. Such protectors have been designed with numerous purposes in mind. For instance, there are a variety of human activities which have specially designed head protectors available for participants. For instance, football helmets, bicycling helmets, motorcycle helmets, ski masks, and so on. Animals too have had a variety of head coverings designed for their use. For instance, horses are often equipped with blinders, restricting their vision and focusing their attention as desired. Horses also have been the object of inventions which allow them to be controlled when they are endangered by fire but uncontrollable due to their irrational fear of the fire, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 584,947 to H. Lundborg.
Another class of head coverings seeks to protect the wearer against a hazardous environment, such as toxic fumes, noxious smells, deafening or injurious noise levels, blinding lights, and other such environmental discomforts.
The herein disclosed invention concerns itself with a problem which has been heretofore recognized but inadequately solved. It is the objective of the invention to protect the ears of long eared animals, especially dogs, from coming into contact with their food or drink while they eat. It is the objective of the invention to provide such a device which does not interfere with the eating of the animal, does not itself come into contact with the animal's food, is light weight, comfortable, and not easily removed by the animal. Further, the invention has as objectives that it be easily put on and taken off the animal, adjustable for a variety of sizes of ears and animal heads, and may be itself decorated so as to enhance the appearance of the animal in the eyes of its owner and of others.